Opinions of Peter Belmont
Speaking Truth to Power
| Gunter Grass’s poem “What must be said” |
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by Peter A. Belmont / 2012-04-08
In my view, what must be said is that everyone is complicit who knows of ongoing or incipient crimes and does nothing to stop them. Outside Israel itself, we of the USA—the government of which has been supporting Israel without regard to its crimes—most of all are complicit with Israel’s crimes—especially the vast violations of the laws of war and of the international human rights and humanitarian laws and agreements. What must be said By Günter Grass, The Guardian – 5 April 2012 Why have I kept silent, held back so long, on something openly practiced in war games, at the end of which those of us who survive will at best be footnotes? It’s the alleged right to a first strike that could destroy an Iranian people subjugated by a loudmouth and gathered in organized rallies, because an atom bomb may be being developed within his arc of power. Yet why do I hesitate to name that other land in which for years—although kept secret— a growing nuclear power has existed beyond supervision or verification, subject to no inspection of any kind? This general silence on the facts, before which my own silence has bowed, seems to me a troubling lie, and compels me toward a likely punishment the moment it’s flouted: the verdict “Anti-semitism” falls easily. But now that my own country, brought in time after time for questioning about its own crimes, profound and beyond compare, is said to be the departure point, (on what is merely business, though easily declared an act of reparation) for yet another submarine equipped to transport nuclear warheads to Israel, where not a single atom bomb has yet been proved to exist, with fear alone the only evidence, I’ll say what must be said. But why have I kept silent till now? Because I thought my own origins, tarnished by a stain that can never be removed, meant I could not expect Israel, a land to which I am, and always will be, attached, to accept this open declaration of the truth. Why only now, grown old, and with what ink remains, do I say: Israel’s atomic power endangers an already fragile world peace? Because what must be said may be too late tomorrow; and because—burdened enough as Germans— we may be providing material for a crime that is foreseeable, so that our complicity will not be expunged by any of the usual excuses. And granted: I’ve broken my silence because I’m sick of the West’s hypocrisy; and I hope too that many may be freed from their silence, may demand that those responsible for the open danger we face renounce the use of force, may insist that the governments of both Iran and Israel allow an international authority free and open inspection of the nuclear potential and capability of both. No other course offers help to Israelis and Palestinians alike, to all those living side by side in enmity in this region occupied by illusions, and ultimately, to all of us. Günter Grass Translated by Breon Mitchell |
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